The Rockies and Denny Neagle reached a settlement in his contract dispute Thursday, closing the book on the pitcher’s troubled, unsuccessful career with the team.

Details of the settlement were not disclosed, but sources said the Rockies will have to pay their former pitcher from roughly $16 million.

Neagle, 36, was attempting to regain $19.5 million unpaid after the club terminated his contract in December, citing a violation of a morals clause.

The Rockies declined to comment, other than saying the matter was over and they wanted to move on, according to general manager Dan O’Dowd. Neagle did not return calls.

A grievance hearing didn’t last long Thursday morning in New York, with Neagle backed by players union counsel Michael Weiner and the Rockies represented by team president Keli McGregor, in-house lawyer Hal Roth and O’Dowd.

The two sides started negotiations on a possible settlement on Wednesday. McGregor was the lone witness, and after his testimony, a recess was called. It was during that time a settlement was reached, according to club and union sources. The Rockies were spared roughly $3 million of the $19.5 million they owed Neagle in 2005 salary, a buyout for the 2006 season and interest.

The Rockies terminated Neagle’s contract Dec. 6 after his citation on suspicion of soliciting a prostitute; he has pleaded not guilty. He previously pleaded guilty to driving while ability-impaired after being involved in a minor traffic accident in 2003.

Rockies owner Charlie Monfort said in December that Neagle’s pattern of behavior figured heavily in the team’s decision. The club based its legal argument on Paragraph 7(1)b of the uniform player’s contract, which states that a club may terminate a contract if a player should “fail, refuse or neglect to conform his personal conduct to the standards of good citizenship and good sportsmanship.”

After signing a five-year, $51.5 million free-agent contract in December 2000, Neagle didn’t meet expectations. He went 19-23 with a 5.56 earned-run average for the Rockies and missed most of the 2003 season and all of 2004 with shoulder and elbow injuries. He signed as a free agent with Tampa Bay in February but was cut in spring training. He continues throwing in hopes of resuming his career.

“I am sure it’s frustrating when you spend that kind of money and I am on the shelf not contributing,” Neagle told The Denver Post in February about his stint with the Rockies. “I can’t say I would blame them for any ill feelings. Obviously, things ended on ill terms. But I don’t want to say anything bad about them, and hopefully they feel the same.”

Troy is a former Denver Broncos and Colorado Rockies beat writer for The Denver Post. He joined the news organization in 2002 as the Rockies' beat writer and became a Broncos beat writer in 2014 before assuming the lead role ahead of the 2015 season. He left The Post in 2015.

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